When I'm Not Looking
by Rattle Those Stars
Summary: Albus' musings on what Minerva does all alone...


All things recognizable belong to someone else with much more talent and money then me.

A/N: I was sad to see the end of it all last night...but I was happy with the way it was presented to us. I hope you all had a lovely time as well. In honour of our favourite couple, I give you...

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><p><strong>When I'm Not Looking<strong>

It had been an exhausting day at Hogwarts. Nothing spectacular had happened, but with the end of the year approaching within the month and this being Monday...everyone was ready for the comfort of their beds. The idea of continuing down the hallway, past the gargoyle, up the spiral staircase, past the whiling gizmos in the office, and into the purple, silk sheets sounded amazing to Albus Dumbledore. In fact, it sounded so pleasant that he would have done just that...if he hadn't heard the laughter coming from inside the staff room. It wasn't uncommon for his friends to be up at this late hour, or for them to be giggling and telling stories and jokes, but, what had caught the Headmasters attention was one laugh in particular. This laugh had become one of his favourite sounds in the world, it wasn't breathy or girlish or fake or too loud. It was just...hers. Hers. Minerva McGonagall's. She had a laugh that put him away, it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up and gave him goose pimples. Something in that laugh made his whole being alert.

He slowly opened the door to the staff room. It was lit only by the moon shining through the windows and two candles on top of the mantle, giving the room a beautiful glow. Only four people were still here to enjoy the late hour, Filius Flitwick, the newest member of Hogwarts, Professor Arrieta, who taught astronomy, and Madame Flannery, who loved books, but didn't want anyone to call her by her last name (Jones) which, apparently, is far too plain, and Minerva. Whatever the joke was, it must have been good, the four of them were laughing to the point of tears. They hadn't noticed him come in so he just stood there and took them all in for a moment, well it is probably more correct to say he took _her_ in. Today she had pulled one side of her black hair with a pretty comb that had small white flowers on it, her robes were dark blue, a lovely contrast to her pale skin, there were 3 silver buttons that held the fabric together at her waist, she had her hands over her mouth, trying to control the laughter. Albus couldn't help but smile at the sight. She was so adorable without even trying.

Merlin, she was beautiful! Albus had known Minerva for a while now. She started teaching at Hogwarts 5 years ago, just after her parents had passed away. She had been very close to her mother and when she lost her Minerva had been beyond upset but had held herself together amazingly, it was truly incredible how much strength Minerva had. Finally, the laughter calmed down enough for Filius to realize that Albus was in the room. "Headmaster! Oh, you just missed the funniest thing, you see, Arrieta was just sitting down with his tea when he tripped and spilled it all over Flannery!" The small man was trying his hardest not to laugh again when he got hit in the head with a couch pillow.

"You wouldn't thing it so funny Filius if you smelled of peppermint tea!" Flannery exclaimed as she stood. "Well, I am going to go take a shower and get some sleep. Goodnight my dears." She made her way to the door and said good night to Albus as she left. Filius and Professor Arrieta had stood too, saying their goodbyes with a yawn and leaving as well.

"Are you not tired, Professor?" Albus inquired with a small grin as he settled into his favourite chair by the fire place.

"mmm, I'm afraid not, Headmaster, it would appear that my animagus has more of an effect than one would think. I am quite nocturnal anymore." She pulled her legs up onto the couch and began grading what looked to be essays. Since shed started working at Hogwarts he'd noticed that was a habit of hers, when she was alone, or comfortable with the people around her, she would always have her legs tucked underneath herself. But, now that he was thinking about it, he wondered what else she did when no one was looking.

_When she was home for the summer did she like to have a drink before bed? _He knew she could hold her fire whiskey, though, she preferred gillywater. He wondered if she slid down the hallway in her socks, like he had loved to do as a child. He couldn't help himself from imagining her undressing... _did she leave a trail of clothes? A robe on the chair, hair pins in the hall, night gown outside the bathroom door?_ He recalled her saying she was 'going to go soak in the tub' on a number of occasions, so did she like bubbles and candles or did she just like the hot water? He didn't know any of those things...but he wanted to.

It was a common known fact that Minerva had a temper, she got frustrated easily, and would almost always tell you if you are out of line... but what did she do when she couldn't tell you that you are a prat? _Did she snap a quill to get some of the energy off?_ For some reason he couldn't see her screaming into a pillow, like some women did. But, he could see her sitting under a blanket with a half eaten box of chocolates from Honeydukes, wearing a frown. No matter who you are, chocolates make things feel better. He watched her as her eyes scanned the essay in obvious distaste. She was biting her nails, a nasty habit that she wasn't proud of, she was also moving her foot to some tune in her head. He had never noticed it before, but her toes were painted! Red, even! _Hmm... does she paint her toes to distract herself from biting her nails? I wonder if she still writes her sister... _

_Who are you when I'm not around? _He asked her in his head, _when door is locked and the shades are down, do you listen to your music quietly?_ He'd heard her humming more than once, mostly The Shirlles or when she was doing something meticulous like reading the paper or pouring tea. He then wondered something very unlikely in his opinion, _Do you ever think of me? Merlin you are the most beautiful women I've ever known...but who are you when I'm not looking?_

She was humming now, something familiar...and the she began to sing "will you still love me tomorrow?" she was quiet when she sang but it was still beautiful. "is this a lasting treasure, or just a moments, pleasure..." and she went back to humming again. Albus clapped his hands together and chuckled. The look of horror on her face was evident. "Did I just sing that aloud?"

"I'm afraid so, my dear. We should put you in a competition." he joked.

"Oh, don't be cheeky Albus! That isn't nice at all." Her face had turned as red as her toes, she really was embarrassed.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, Minerva." Now he felt terrible, watching her shake her head at herself. "It was very pretty though..." She didn't look convinced.

"I think I am just going to go to bed and sleep away the embarrassment, okay?" She stood up to leave, and Albus panicked. He didn't want her to leave yet. So, without thinking, he quickly got to his feet and grabbed her hand. She spun around and didn't even look at him, her emerald eyes shot straight to their hands. "Albus...are you alright?" He mustn't have heard her because he seemed to be mumbling to himself.

"Oh, Merlin, what am I doing?" He took a few breaths, trying to calm himself. He finally spoke to her again, "I love your laugh."

"I beg your pardon?" She had no idea what he was talking about now...

"I love your laugh, Minerva. It makes my heart beat faster when I hear it. Every time I am around you you make me nervous, and I don't know why. I worry about you over the holidays, because I know that your alone... I hate it that when I close my eyes I think about you, or that when I see you I am dying to know what your hair smells like. It kills me that you beat me at chess because I can'tpay attention to _anything_ when you are that close to me. I hate it when you run your fingers along your tea cup! It drives me crazy that I don't know what your touch feels like... I love to listen to you talk about the Ministry because you are so passionate about what their doing wrong... and I can't smell lilac anymore without your face instantly coming to mind because that is your perfume...isn't it?" He was rambling but she seemed to be keeping up because she slowly nodded in answer to his question. "I thought so...I love to listen to you teach or console a student. You are so good at that. I love it when you fuss with the ends of your sleeves. I hate myself for undressing you with my eyes .. and wanting to kiss you." He watched her eyes get wide and then realized what he had said. "And now I_ really_ hate myself for saying that...I am so sorry Minerva...I-I'm so sorry." He didn't know what else to say to her.

Minerva stared at him in shock for a moment trying to digest all of that. She looked back down at their hands and realized that her breathing was uneven...and that her heart rate must have increased because she could hear it in her ears... she pulled her eyes back to his and saw something she hadn't expected. His eyes had always fascinated her, how they sparkled but right now they were sparkling in a different way, like he had just put his heart on the line... and the she kissed him. She kissed him with so much force that they fell backward onto the sofa, her hands found their way to the side of his face and she could feel his hands take hold of her waist, cautiously at first, then he held onto her as though if he let go she would disappear. When she felt his tongue touch hers she couldn't help but moan which caused particular parts of him to react as well. When the kiss ended Minerva only said one thing, making both of them very happy.

"I love you, too..."

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><p>AN: A friend of mine showed me the Blake Shelton video for "Who are you when I'm not Looking" and I got inspired. Hope everyone likes it. I know that it's probably a crummy fic, but I had fun writing it. Please review! XOXO, Mtf13


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